Senneth
|Row 9 title = |Row 9 info = |Row 10 title = |Row 10 info = }} Patron goddess of schemes, seduction, and intrigue, Senneth is commonly accepted as the greatest and most widely worshipped of the Roseblessed pantheon -- though by the very nature of her power, none would ever acknowledge the fact aloud. She appears as a beautiful, golden-haired woman in a fashionable courtly gown of deep blue, a single rose entwined in her hair, and her fine opera gloves continuously drip with the blood of those unfortunate enough to be cast down by her expansive, continuously-churning plots of intrigue. Her associated animal is the serpent, though this is likely a poetic re-interpretation or mistranslation. In older versions of her scriptures, she is instead connected with dragons. She is known to keep an ongoing, stormy relationship with Brenoir, the chaotic god's designs occasionally aligning with her own -- each believing that the other would be nowhere without them -- and she competes fiercely with her sister Alieux. Dogma Senneth delights in the eternal dance of intrigue in the Dominion's noble courts, her scriptures describing the structure of courtly life as -- appropriate to the rhetoric of the Dominion itself -- a garden of roses, carefully cultivated, beautiful to look upon, and injurious to those ignorant of its dangers. To fully enjoy a rose bed, one must be proficient in avoiding its thorns: either through careful manipulation, or eliminating the thorns altogether. While she has no formal rituals or prayers, Senneth instead accepts the execution of elegant plans, of political enemies cast out, and of personal desires attained as forms of worship, seemingly opposing her sibling deities' teachings at every turn: Lahaule's doctrine of self-denial, Alieux and Mauthiel's philosophies of empathy, Kholes' iron adherence to law, Brenoir's blind belief in entropy, and even Jallaré's scarce dogma of protection. Only in Férus, most forthright of the gods, does she find genuine worth -- but even the sword has the end of its usefulness. She rewards those who "play the game" and perpetuate her plans with stature and power, preaching that there is no shame in selfishness -- to want for oneself is to be mortal, and to desire the powers and comforts bestowed on those of greater station is in the natural course of the Great Game. When the 'natural way' of human nature and following it to selfish ends grants such rewards, why would one ever fight against it? The 'natural way,' of course -- the existence of the Game itself, the phenomenon of courtly politics -- is the result of her cultivating her garden in the Dominion in the first place, playing to the darker desires of mortals in the dawning days of the empire. Clergy & Temples The teachings of Senneth are the greatest open secret in the history of the Dominion, taboo to speak of in polite company -- to reveal one's hand, after all, is to ruin the basis of the Game -- but even if at the end of all things human instinct is to act in self-interest, the Bride of Conspiracy shall have at least one adherent. As it stands, her formal clerics constitute the household ministers, chaplains, and seneschals of the Dominion, hired as "spiritual guides" in name to serve as spymasters and informants to those who can afford their services. Such transactions are strategic and calculated things, undertaken after great consideration, for each party is aware of the other's self-interest in participating -- and the secrets a cleric of Senneth may glean from one noble are fair game to any other who can pay for their Guiding Advice. Her clerics rarely wear holy vestments, instead identified by incorporating a white rose into their ensemble, otherwise following courtly fashion. Fortunately, roses never go out of style in the Dominion. Avatars Senneth takes great care in crafting her avatars, appearing as various young dilettantes to those unsuspecting, at once blessed and cursed courts whose goings-on are of interest to her designs. Like her divine sister, she often dallies with mortals, though these are rarely affairs of the heart and most often have ulterior motives. Category:Deities Category:Roseblessed Category:Planeswatch Category:Non-Player Characters